By Nick Giongco
National athletes who are aiming for Tokyo Olympic slots are slowly adapting to the changes in their respective preparations.
Chief of mission Nonong Araneta on Monday urged affected national sports association to immediately submit a revised copy of their Olympic blueprint.
Not all 16 NSAs are affected but those who had earlier booked training stints in China were told to make the necessary adjustments the soonest.
Araneta was joined during the meeting by Philippine Sports Commission chairman Butch Ramirez, who assured the NSAs that the government is fully behind their respective bids to send qualifiers to the July 24-August 9 Olympics.
NSAs that have been forced to adjust include weightlifting, boxing, taekwondo, gymnastics, athletics and skateboarding, according to Araneta, who revealed that the PSC is going to house the Olympians in Tokyo a month before the Athletes Village formally opens its gates.
“It’s not just us but every country that have plans to train and compete in China are making adjustments,” noted Araneta.
The good thing, though, is the PSC is more than willing to shoulder the financial burden.
World champion gymnast Carlos Yulo is likewise moving on after his plan to hone his skills in China got scrapped when officials there, gymnastics chief Cynthia Carrion, turned down the request.
Yulo is now being eyed to train Israel before taking part in the World Cup in Baku, Azerbaijan in March.
From Baku, Yulo will head back to Tokyo where he will be based until the Olympics begin.
Carrion said Yulo won’t be “jumping from one place to another”.
“The advice that we got is for Caloy (Yulo’s nickname) to stay in one place,” said Carrion.
Rio 2016 silver medalist Hidilyn Diaz, meanwhile, is Malaysia-bound in preparation for the Asian championships in Kazakhstan in April.
